THE LOVE OF A LYCAN

234 TORAK'S DISSAPOINTMEN

No matter what era, a blade smith would always be a blade smith.

Aeon focused on the matter at hand and half ignored the devil, who kept bothering him ever since he managed to establish a connection with Raine again.

Yet being ignored didn't stop Lucifer from talking. "Why do you need this grimoire?"

Aeon didn't answer him as he forged and bended the hot metal in his hand.

"You know what? If that book existed in the past, then it should also exist in the present." Lucifer tilted his head to see Aeon's reaction.

A devilish smile curled on his lips when he saw Aeon stop what he was doing and stare at him with hostility.?Yet when he asked Lucifer, the devil knew that the shadow warrior had fallen into his ruse.

"What do you mean?" Aeon's black eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What?" Lucifer feigned an innocent look as if he said that out of a brief idea that crossed his mind and didn't actually mean it.

"Your words from before about the existence of the grimoire." Aeon said.

But unfortunately, Aeon didn't get it.

The smirk on Lucifer's face widened as he explained. "Why do you need to look for that grimoire in the past? If it was something valuable, the witch should have kept it safe, right? Or at least, even though she lost it, the grimoire must exist somewhere." The Devil suggested. "So why don't you look for the grimoire in the present??It would be less dangerous for 'your angel' if she stayed in this realm instead of going back to the past."

Lucifer intentionally emphasized the words of 'your angel' to underline the idea that Raine belonged to Aeon.

As expected, Aeon liked the sound of it.?Although it was only a slight changed, his expression softened.

"I think I can help if your angel really needs it." Lucifer's golden eyes shone brightly.

==============

Raine walked into the second building where her first class would be held along with Stephan, who had not stopped talking since he picked her up at the entrance gates.

"Don't you know the uproar that you caused?" Stephan asked Raine, bothering her with the same topic though he didn't get the response that he wanted. "Fortunately, you entered this university where, probably, half of the students' parents have attended your party, so they won't make an unnecessary fuss."

Stephan was right.?Even if almost all of the students looked at Raine weirdly, there was no one among them who actually approached her or tried to be close to her since she entered the University.

It was actually not as scary as Raine thought and she could still tolerate their curious gazes.

"You are right." Raine admitted, mumbling to herself.

Her classroom was like that of a stadium, where the last row was higher than the next one.?A big screen was placed in front of the class where the lecturer would convey the lessons.

Raine furrowed her brows when he saw Stephan sitting next to her such that she was trapped between him and the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Raine felt uncomfortable.

"Attending class." Stephan sent Raine a look, saying, 'what else will I do inside a class?"

"Don't you have your own class?" Raine asked.?She remembered that Stephan took a different major than her.

"I do, but your mate put me here." Stephan shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

"How did he do that?" It was unbelievable.

Stephan raised his eyebrows. "You can enter this University without going through a test.?All you have to do is ask him." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Moreover, I don???t really care what major I take.?This kind of activity is useless to me."

Afterwards, Stephan placed his bag on top of the table and used it as a pillow, resting his head on it as he closed his eyes.

Raine looked at him in disbelief.?She scanned the classroom and noted that almost all the seat was occupied.

Raine couldn't find another vacant corner and being surrounded by strangers didn't seem like such a good idea either.?So after considering the pros and cons, she accepted that sitting beside Stephan was still the best option.

With a deep sigh, Raine pulled out her book and waited for the class to begin.

The next hour and a half was spent on having students introduce themselves and talking about trivial matters to warm up the atmosphere.

When it was Raine's turn to introduce herself, the whole class was so silent that one could even hear the sound of a falling needle.

Raine forced herself to talk as loud as she could, but it turned out her voice was only a little bit louder than a whisper.

But even if those students could not hear her, it does not matter.?They already knew her name.?After all, the waves of shocking news leading up to the splendid birthday celebration had just erupted a week ago and even now, Torak and Raine's name were still on the top of search engines.

Fortunately for Raine, Mr. Hemsworth didn't ask her to repeat her very quiet introduction and allowed her to take her seat as he called another name.

During class, Stephan deigned to rouse himself twice, first when he had to introduce himself and second when the class ended.

As the first class ended Mr. Hemsworth told them to head to the auditorium where there would be a short speech from the Dean and Vice Principal.

"Wake up.?We need to go to the Auditorium." Raine shook Stephan's shoulder so she could get out from her seat too.

Stephan looked disoriented and yawned widely as he looked around the classroom that was now almost empty.

"We have to go to the Auditorium." Raine repeated.

"What? To listen to that boring speech from the Vice Principal and his staff?" Stephan rubbed his face harshly as he stood up.

"From the Dean and the Vice Principal." Raine informed him, but he didn't even bother to listen to her.

"Pass." Stephan raised his hands and opened his palms. "I will take a nap inside the library.?As soon as you're done, come find me."

After saying that, Stephan left Raine, who stared at him in bewilderment.

Why should she look for him? Wasn't he assigned to look after her??So why was he ordering her around? Moreover, Raine was just fine on her own.

Raine decided not to look for him later and instead,go and try to befriend other people.

Since the situation at the campus did not turn out to be as bad as she initially thought and the students did not bombard her with questions like what's been happening online, Raine hoped that she would still be able to have a normal campus life.

With that in mind, Raine proceeded to the auditorium.?It wasn't hard to find the auditorium as all freshmen were heading towards the same place.

Raine still felt a bit awkward mingling amongst the crowd, but she was also excited with her new life as a college student.

"Raine!!!"

Someone called out her name among the crowd.?Raine stopped and looked around, trying to see whose voice it belonged to, but it didn't help that there were hundreds of people around.

"Over here!"

She shouted again and this time her voice came from Raine's left side.?Raine tried to focus on the source of the voice and finally noticed a girl in blue jacket and mini skirt, waving her hands at her.

Raine immediately recognized her face.?She had met her before at the mask party.?Although they met by accident, Raine didn't have a bad impression of her.

The girl moved forward and approached Raine with difficulty.

"Do you still remember me? I am Sunny." She said cheerfully. "I was the one who spilled drink on your dress at the mask party." Sunny reminded Raine.

"Yes, I remember." Raine smiled.

At that time, Sunny told her that she was also a college student at Royal University and she was on her second year.

"I am so happy when I saw you among the freshmen." Sunny exaggerated her reaction. "I was so thrilled when I saw how extravagant your birthday celebration was.?I was also one of your guests you know, but I didn't have a chance to congratulate you because you only stayed for a while." She continued.

Raine liked how energetic Sunny was, but she couldn't listen to her excitement any longer.

"Sunny… I am sorry, but I think I have to go now…" Raine touched Sunny's hand to make her stop talking as she looked around.?Almost all of the new students were already inside the auditorium. "How about we chat latter?" She offered.

Raine didn't want to be rude to her first friend.

"Of course! How about we exchange numbers?" Sunny suggested.?Her expression didn't change a little bit.

"Sure." Raine agreed readily.?They exchanged numbers then waved goodbye as they went in different directions.

When Raine entered the auditorium and found her seat, she felt her phone ring, indicating that someone had sent her a message.

Looking at the screen, Sunny's name popped up along with her text.

[If you are finished and have no class, meet me at the university canteen.I will introduce you to my friends. ((^O^))]

To be introduced to Sunny's friends sounded nice, thus Raine typed her reply. [Okay.]

The speech lasted for an hour and when it was done, it was already time for lunch.

She needed to ask two people for direction to the canteen because this was her first time to go there.?The two appeared quite surprised when Raine initiated the conversation.?Along the way, Raine wondered how Stephan knew where the library was in this University. Probably he asked around too.

The canteen was located next to the second building. It was situated east of the University Park, its outdoor layout boasting of many food stalls.

As soon as Raine reached the canteen, she called Sunny to inquire about her exact location.

Sunny picked up the call on the second ring.

"Raine, are you already here?" Sunny's cheerful voice could be heard over the line.

Raine smiled when she heard her enthusiasm. "Yes, where are you?"

Sunny then told her where she was and as she was talking, there were voices near her asking, 'Is it Raine?' and 'She will join us?'

Raine didn't need to have a lycan's hearing ability to hear all of those questions as they were so loud. "I got it."

Raine walked over to the place that Sunny had mentioned which was not very far from where Raine stood.

Under a big tree, beside a hotdog stall, there was a picnic bench that could fit eight people.

"Raine, over here!" Sunny waved her hand as she stood up from her seat.

Raine waved back at her as she walked towards them.

Aside from Sunny, there were two girls and two guys, all of them looking at her as she approached them.

Raine gave them a polite smile as soon as she arrived.?She clutched her hands together so she could stop herself from fidgeting.

"This is Raine!" Sunny stood up abruptly and introduced her in a tone of voice, as if saying,'ta-daa!'

Sunny then went on to introduce the other five people enthusiastically.

Casey, a girl with brown eyes and brown hair tied into a bun, was wearing glasses and looked cute.?She had a mole on her left cheekbone.?She was quite friendly, smiling all the time.

Jamie, who was sitting across Casey, was quite eccentric with her white short hair, its left side had streaks of purple colored hair.?Raine couldn't tell if Jamie disliked having her there or if it was just her character to ignore people because she just continued eating while Sunny introduced her and only glanced briefly at Raine.

Beside Casey was Connor. He was an adorable guy with dimples on his cheeks, which appeared every time he smiles.?And he smiles a lot, just like Casey.

Later, Sunny whispered to Raine that Casey and Connor were a couple.

And the last guy was the one that attracted Raine's curiosity the most.

This man's name was Kai, but Sunny said he preferred to be called Kelly.

Kai or Kelly was wearing an adorable shocking color of pink shirt.?His black straight hair framed his long face.?He had yellow eye shadows on his eyelids and had put on a light orange lipstick on his lips.

But the shocking part was the way he greeted Raine.

"Hai, Raine." He glanced at Raine through the small round mirror in his hand. "You are welcome here, but I don't think I like you."

In an instant, Raine's face fell.?She had done nothing yet, but there was someone who already hated her.

Connor immediately punched Kai's arms, his face showing an apologetic expression. Sunny also explained immediately to Raine.

"He didn't mean it.?Kelly likes men and he is one of Torak Donovan's fans, so he is just jealous of you." Sunny said in low voice. "He is not a bad man. Just ignore him for the meantime.?He is still in shock at your relationship announcement."

Raine was speechless.?She was even hated by a man. Just how big was Torak's influence…

==============

After that, Raine spent most of her free time with Sunny and her friends.?Although Kai still disliked her and didn't talk to her nicely, he didn't hate her in particular.

Kai always complained about how Raine dressed herself and rumbled on about how filthy rich Torak was, but Raine always used the same bag every day.

Kai always said that if he was her, he would have brought all the latest collection of famous brands and would never wear the same clothes twice for the rest of his life.

Raine couldn't argue with his theory and Casey just waved her hand, advising Raine to ignore him.

But on rare occasions, when Kai knew that Torak would pick her up, he would force Raine to meet him first before she went out of the campus and he would put a light make up on her face.

"You should learn how to do make up you know!" Kai would chastise Raine while applying pink lipstick on her lips. "Do you think that because you are already in a relationship with him, he wouldn't seek another woman? Don't be so na?ve! If you always meet him with this plain face of yours and your conservative style, don't cry when he looks for someone better. He is still a man you know! Men like to see beautiful things!"

Apart from Kai's infatuation towards Torak, he was a good friend.

Casey and Connor would treat Raine nicely, though Casey and Sunny would flaunt on their social media accounts about how they befriended Torak Donovan's girlfriend, which incited another ripple of comments from people online.?Most of the time, they were the best friends that Raine hoped for.

Meanwhile, Jamie would treat Raine like she wasn't there.?Raine sometimes wondered if she normally treats people that way.It was so rare for her to talk, and if she did it was to make a sharp comment about the topic, which in variably kills the conversation, causing people to shut up.

For Stephan, he would always fetch her at the front gates and walk her to the gates when it's time for her to go home. In between, Stephan would choose to sleep in the library instead of mingle with Sunny and the others.

Stephan thought that as long as Raine wasn't alone and there were thousands of pairs of eyes around her, she would be all right.

Hence, he would slack off on his duty with Raine.

Yet Raine didn't complain as she didn't really like being tailed by Stephan because she knew that he would report everything that she did to Torak, which makes her slightly uncomfortable.

Regardless, Raine loved her university life. She could continue her education, which she thought she wouldn't be able to do it, and she has a few people that she could call her friends.

Inside the university area and among her friends, Raine was invisible. Those people out there with their hate comments couldn't reach her or hurt her.

Not everyone hates Raine for being with Torak.?There were also those who congratulated her.?But the comparison was too big and Torak didn't like Raine reading comments on social media.

In a blink of an eye, three weeks passed by uneventfully.

But it didn't last for long.

One afternoon, as Raine was walking on the patio adjoining the first building and the second building to have lunch with Sunny and the others, someone touched her hand.

Startled, Raine turned around and found a familiar face.

He stood in close proximity and she could smell his musky scent.?His black eyes stared at Raine deeply.

"Aeon?" Raine said in disbelief.

"Raine, I miss you." Aeon blurted out, making Raine panic.?It wouldn't be good if someone else hears him say that.

"How can you be here?" Raine asked, looking around as if she was afraid that Torak would see Aeon. She did it subconsciously and out of habit.

Aeon didn't answer immediately and just fixed his eyes on Raine.?She looked beautiful as ever, whether it was in the past or in the present, she looked so enchanting.

"I can help you find the book that you have been looking for with the witch." Aeon stated.

"Aeon, I think you don't need to bother with that… I am sorry, but I have to go…" Raine tried to pry Aeon's fingers from her hand, but he was unfazed. "Aeon, don't do this…"

Raine started to feel uncomfortable because many eyes were looking at her and Aeon.

"What is it?" Someone came forward and grabbed Aeon's hand. "Let her go." He demanded in a deep voice.

Raine turned her head to her left and found a man standing next to her.?He was as tall as Aeon but with a bulkier body.

Aeon glared at him as the man mimicked his fierceness.

"Aeon, let go of me." Raine was so distressed at his stubbornness.?She really didn't want to attract more unnecessary attention but Aeon is making things difficult for her.

"Torak sure has put all of his dogs around you." Aeon hissed as he switched his anger towards the bulky man.

"Go!" The man snarled.

Raine was surprised at Aeon's words and looked at the man who came to rescue her.?She had never seen this man before.

Because this city wasn't Torak's territory and because of her strange condition that makes it difficult for her to be around a lot of werewolves and Lycanthropes, Torak only brought a few of his own people.?Even though Raine didn't know each of their names, she was familiar with their faces since she often sees them around the main house or when they guard her whenever she goes outside of the house.

However, Raine had never seen him before.

"Consider my words." Aeon said before he released Raine's hand and walked away.

Once Aeon had gone, that man turned to check on Raine. "Luna, are you all right?"

"You are…?" Raine narrowed her eyes.?She wasn't sure if he was merely a human guard to protect her or he was also a shape shifter.

"I am Mark, one of the Alpha's subordinate." The bulky man named Mark introduced himself.

"I didn't know that Torak had put more of his people here…" Raine mumbled and subconsciously looked around.?She suddenly became alert and attentive of her surroundings, as if she was being spied upon. "How many people like you are here?"

"Luna, you need not worry.?We are here to protect you.?You can pretend that we do not exist." After saying that, Mark walked away from Raine before she could get him to tell her the number of people that Torak had planted there.

Raine's mood turned sour the rest of the day.?It bothered her that there were more of Torak's people surrounding her.?She thought it was only Stephan who was assigned to be with her, yet without her knowing, there were a lot more.

"You just knew now?!" Stephan raised his eyebrows when Raine told him about Torak's people inside the University. "Do you really think I can slack off if it was only me who was looking after you? Knowing the Alpha, you should know that."

"But Torak never said anything about this." Raine complained.

Both of them walked to the entrance gates where a pricey car had been waiting for Raine.

"Yes, but it also means he is not lying." Stephan yawned.

The sun had almost set, its light casting their shadows longer.?Raine contemplated Stephan's words.

Stephan was right.?Torak didn't lie to her, he just didn't mention it.

Raine knew this was for her protection, but it was a little bit uncomfortable when you didn't know there were people who always had their eyes on you and were watching your every move, yet you didn't know who they were.

It's no wonder that, recently, she had never seen a single supernatural creature around. Before, she would at least meet one or two.

"But how could those people enter this University? The one that I met earlier seemed to be in his third year at least." Raine asked Stephan again.

How could Torak put some people in the middle of the semester?

Stephan sighed helplessly as if he was tired of explaining this kind of things to Raine. "Oh, please. Until now, you still don't have any idea how powerful your mate is?" He rolled his eyes. "Try to make trouble and see how he would clean up your mess." He suggested.

With his absurd advice, Stephan opened the car door for Raine and sent her off.

When she arrived home, Calleb had been waiting for her. "The Alpha asks you to meet him in his study room."

Raine frowned when she saw Calleb's expression and his stern voice. This would be something serious.

"Alright." She said and walked towards Torak's study room.

Once she was inside, Torak pulled her into a tight hug and closed the door.

"Torak?" Raine didn't understand what has gotten into him. "What happened?"

It was his silence that answered Raine as he buried his head on her shoulder.

"What happened? You're scaring me…" Raine became anxious because of Torak's reaction. "Did something bad happen?"

"I am sorry if I scared you." Torak released Raine's body and stared at her for awhile before he asked. "The shadow warrior approached you today?"

Raine was surprised, but then she remembered about Mark and Torak's people that he had placed around the campus.

"Yes, but…" Before she could explain, Torak had made his own decision.

"Don't go to school until Serefina's condition is better and she could put layers of protection there." Torak said firmly.

"What?" Raine creased her eyebrows in disbelief. "Torak… Aeon didn't do me any harm…"

Until Serefina's condition gets better? The last time Raine visited the witch, she had not even woken up yet. If she followed Torak's demand, how long would it take until she could get back to college?

"Whether it's intentional or not,he will harm you eventually." Torak stated.

But Raine was in denial. "No, you don't understand… he won't harm me.?He had protected me a few times."

And then Raine told her about how Aeon had saved her and him when she traveled back to the past.If it wasn't for him, Raine would have been in danger.

But Torak was far from glad when he heard that.

"That's why, Torak please… don't hurt him…" Raine pleaded.

"You beg me for another man." Torak's voice was filled with disappointment.